Description
The University of Amsterdam (UvA) has decided that it will no longer collaborate with fossil fuel companies unless several strict conditions are met.
In juli 2023, multiple dialogue sessions collected as many insights as possible from all corners of the UvA to ensure a decision that was widely supported in the UvA community. The views during the sessions were sometimes firmly divergent: from “cooperation is necessary to help companies change” to “sever all ties immediately". In the end, consensus emerged on key points: there is a climate crisis that can be considered a global emergency that requires great urgency, the energy transition must be accelerated, and meeting climate goals is paramount.
Thus, the UvA no longer collaborates in projects involving the fossil industry unless three strict criteria are met:
- The project has the explicit goal of contributing to the achievement of the goals of the Paris Agreement.
- The project - and thus the positive goals contributing to the Paris goals - cannot be achieved in another way or with other, non-fossil partners, for example because data or measurement tools are not otherwise available.
- A multidisciplinary and broadly composed advisory committee advises whether the intended contribution to the climate goals justifies this cooperation.